Italian Herbed Shrimp Kebabs

Found this one in the July 2008 Cooking Light magazine. I did not use cilantro (not a big fan), so I added 1/4 fresh oregano and can't imagine it tasting any better! The menu suggested serving with tomato bruschetta (I will include the recipe) and grilled asparagus. The pesto-like marinade would also work well on chicken breasts or scallops.

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 garlic clove
4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
24 peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (approx. 20 slices)
Cooking Spray
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
2. Place first 6 ingredients in a blender or a small food processor; add 2 teaspoons oil. Process until smooth. Transfer basil mixture to a medium bowl. Add shrimp to bowl; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
3. Thread 6 shrimp and 5 zucchini slices alternately on each of 4 (12 inch) skewers. Drizzle kebabs evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. (*To make sure the zucchini were cooked enough I put them in a bowl in the microwave for 1 minute with a little water, allowed them to lightly steam before grilling.) Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 kebab)

Calories 235; Fat 7.8g; Protein 35.5g; Carb 4.7g; Fiber 1g; Chol 259mg; Iron 4.7mg; Sodium 555mg; Calc 113mg


Tomato Bruschetta
Grill 4(1 1/2 oz) slices country-style sourdough bread 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Remove bread from grill; rub one side of each bread slice with cut sides of a halved garlic clove. Combine 3/4 cup chopped tomato, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Top each bread slice with about 3 tablespoons of tomato mixture

Cumin-Dusted Chicken Breasts with Guacamole Sauce

This recipe came from my favorite source..Cooking Light magazine. I never get rid of these magazines, I love the recipes that much!! I must admit that before this recipe I had never eaten avacado...in anything! Thanks to Courtney I now know that "black stringies" aren't supposed to be in a ripe avacado! Thanks Courtney!!!

Sauce:
1/4 c. finely chopped green onions
1/4 c. finely chopped parsley
1/4 c. fat-free sour cream
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 ripe peeled avacado, seeded and coarsely mashed
Chicken:
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

1. To prepare sauce, combine first 8 ingredients; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. To prepare chicken, combine sugar, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over. Place pan in oven; bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until done. Serve chicken with sauce. Yield: 4 servings (serving size : 1 breast half and about 3 tablespoons sauce).

CALORIES 301 (27% from fat); FAT 9 g(sat 1.5 g, mono 4.8g, poly 1.3 g); PROTEIN 41.6g; CARB 12.5g; FIBER 3.6 g; CHOL 101 mg, IRON 2.1 g; SODIUM 575 mg; CALC 76 mg

Greek Kabobs and Pine Nut-Orzo Salad

This recipe is from Rachael Ray. It is one of our favorites. Fabulous flavors...and easy. It can be made vegetarian by using portobello mushrooms as a substitute for meat.


Ingredients:
Salt
1/2 pound orzo
4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
4 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves stripped and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
1/4 cup green olive tapenade
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 lemons, juiced and 1 zested
1/3 plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds firm white flesh fish, halibut or swordfish, cut into 12 (2-inch) chunks
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 12 (2-inch) chunks
Black pepper
Metal skewers
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 cup feta cheese crumbles
8 Greek hot peppers, for garnish
1/4 cup kalamata olives, for garnish
2 tomatoes, diced, for garnish
1/2 cucumber, diced, for garnish

Instructions:
Preheat grill pan or outdoor grill to medium high.
Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil for the pasta salad. When the water boils, salt it and cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta works, in a small bowl combine the garlic, oregano, rosemary, tapenade, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon lemon zest and the juice of 1 lemon with about 1/3 cup EVOO. Place the fish and chicken in separate shallow dishes or bowls and season with salt and pepper then divide the dressing between the bowls and coat the fish and chicken evenly. Skewer the fish and chicken on metal skewers. Grill the chicken 10 to 12 minutes until firm and juices run clear, and the fish for about 6 to 8 minutes, turning the kabobs frequently.

Drain orzo and combine with pine nuts, onions, parsley, feta crumbles, the juice of 1 lemon, about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve the orzo salad with 3 pieces each of chicken and fish along side. Garnish plates with a couple of hot peppers, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers on each plate.